THE
HAWKEYE December 2018
Bloomfield Hills High School
Volume VI-Issue II
Photo by Georgia Zimmerman
District addresses hate speech
Community responds to anti-Semitism by KAITLYN LUCKOFF Section Editor On the evening of December 6, community members, staff, and students received an email from Principal Charlie Hollerith regarding our building and district’s vehement denouncement of a recent act of hate. The following morning, the daily announcements featured a similar message, denouncing hate speech and intolerance and emphasizing the importance of inclusivity. “Any time we become made aware of these situations we
investigate, and there’s two pieces to that. One is taking the appropriate disciplinary action and then the other piece is to continue education and to make sure future events do not occur,” said Principal Charlie Hollerith. “Our Student Global Leaders are a big part of equity and inclusion, as they are spreading positive messages about how to become global citizens and to build an inclusive environment here. We continue to train teachers in that area and restorative practices go on in many classrooms. Students have the opportunity to talk about some of these issues and have meaningful dialogue around topics that are not always easy to discuss.” As hate-fueled incidents are occurring more frequently
and are being carried out by younger individuals, many schools across the country have been faced with the dual challenge of both responding to current issues of anti semitism and preventing future ones. Involving community groups and local leaders is one way to achieve both. Our building has been taking advantage of resources such as the Anti-Defamation League and local rabbis to aid with combating issues of hate among students. “The Anti-Defamation League’s Allison Rosenfeld says their data shows a 94% rise in anti-Semitic incidents in K-12 schools. Teaching Tolerance tracks hate in schools based on media reports, and believes there is an increase in incidents of hate and bias
SCHOOL NEWS Student Committee created
Advisory committee allows students to express concerns by HILARY LAM Guest Writer
Principal Charlie Hollerith created a student advisory committee to discuss student perspectives on solutions to problems in the school. “The Student Advisory Committee [is something that] I had been wanting to develop for a while,” said Hollerith. “Part of that was to be able to bring issues to the students to get their best ideas, their best thoughts on these various topics, and also for the students to help inform me about what concerns them the most.” The students in the committee were chosen using various criteria, including leadership
INSIDE: GRANTS AWARDED see page 3
in schools and that the majority of victims in schools were targeted because of their race, ethnicity or ancestry. As schools, we need to pay attention to all incidents of hate,” said district administrator for social emotional learning and educational equity Margaret Schultz. Local rabbis working closely with the district explain the importance of realizing that the issue of hate is not specific to any minority group. “I think that in Bloomfield Hills specifically, the anti-Semitism that we are seeing is not really based on pure hatred. I don’t think that the students of Bloomfield Hills schools are intentionally targeting the Jewish community. I am not sure that it’s really actual hatred that we are fighting,” said
Rabbi Josh Bennett of Temple Israel. “The more that we work as a school district and as a community towards having people get to know one another and [becoming] aware of our similarities and our differences, the better we will be in combating the kind of antibias moments that we have been dealing with in schools right now that should not be there.” Although our building’s use of technology has been remarkable for learning and growth inside the classroom, students intermittently abuse their technology privileges. Having access to social media platforms nearly all day provides an opportunity for students to misuse technology. Often, students do not understand the repercussions
of their actions online, as it is much easier for messages and ideas to be spread throughout the building. “One of the big roles that social media plays is that it allows information to be spread very rapidly. When a video is made, or a message is sent, it can be out to the entire community/world in a matter of minutes. The rapid pace of information can allow a lot of people to be harmed in a short amount of time, even if there was not intention to do so,” said Schultz. “The first thing that schools do is investigate the situation in order to understand what has happened. As an educational institution, our goal is always to help students learn. So, we have to
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Community news Community builds mosaic
training and diversity. “One of the parameters that’s important, especially with our building focus on equity and inclusion, is those that have been through our student Global Leader training,” said Hollerith. “There were a number of students and then from there, it was [checking whether] were there any groups that weren’t represented on the committee.” One member on the committee, junior Eeshika Dadheech, discussed the committee and its goals. “[The committee is] a good way to get the ideas of students and students are also more connected with teachers on a different level,” said Dadheech. “I think it brings different perspectives.” So far, the committee has compiled a list of concerns and problems students have expressed. “The committee is going to take a look at a lot
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INSIDE: SIGNING DAY see page 9
Music mosaic created in memory of former student by NATASHA MEHTA Guest Writer A mosaic constructed by students stands at the entrance of the music wing as a sign of remembrance for Julianne Silverstein Vinik. “It was [made by] students, families, siblings, teachers, and [staff],” said artist Gail Rosenbloom Kaplan, who was recruited to design and construct the mosaic, along with her partner, Dani Katsir. “Whoever was in the building [during the Dessert Concert] was invited to put tiles in.” The mosaic was made as a symbol to remember Julianne Silverstein Vinik, a former member of the Jills. “My daughter, Julianne Silverstein Vinik, died two years ago [on] Thanksgiving,” said Dolores Silverstein, her mother, who donated
INSIDE: CREED 2 REVIEW see insert 15
the mosaic. “She was very outgoing, very bubbly, and very bright. She was just a delightful person… and some of her happiest days were at [Andover, which she graduated from in 1977]; she was a Jill for two years, which in those days was nine bell-ringing females, and our whole family had such pleasure out of that activity.” Many of Silverstein’s family members were “very involved” in the arts program at Andover, including the band and choir. “It just seemed like such a perfect place to put something in her memory,” said Silverstein. “I think it’s magnificent. It’s like the cornerstone of the school when you come in now, it’s just so beautiful. I think it gives a lot of personality to the school.” The mosaic was designed to be a community project with the aid of current students. “[Silverstein] came to me [because] she saw my work at the Detroit Public Library where I work with schools and community mosaics,” Kaplan said. “She was hoping to do a piece in memory of her daughter. The mosaics,
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INSIDE: 12 DAYS OF JENVEY see insert 16